The government said Allied profited for years as one of the largest lenders approved by the Federal Housing Administration, which is part of HUD, by "engaging in reckless mortgage lending, flouting the requirements of the FHA mortgage insurance program, and repeatedly lying about its compliance."

A five-person U.N. panel on mercenaries, in a report to the General Assembly, also renewed its call for increased regulation of what it called the "ever-expanding activities" of private military and security companies.

"In the last year, we have seen an alarming resurgence of the use of mercenaries in armed conflict -- often in new and novel ways," the group's chair, Faiza Patel, said.